The Doubled Curse Of The Poisoned Heart
by Curious Archer
Summary: Just when they think they have won, Gothel gets a last trick in. She poisons Robin's heart against her true love. Now true love's kiss won't work between them while they're unable to even touch, but no one is willing to give up. Absolutely no one. Curious Archer


"Go home."

Rogers looked up for the first time in a long and drawn out hour. It was late and the only light in their office came from the twin laps sitting on either side of their desks, shining down on the thick books that were laid out between the two of them. Along with the many books – most of which were old enough that the pages needed to be delicately turned to avoid tearing – there were also several pieces of parchment and half a dozen other scraps that they had each collected over the last few weeks. There was so much clutter between them that the whole office was beginning to have a lingering stale smell attached to its walls, like something mixed between an old library and a dusty museum.

"What?" Rogers blinked, trying to concentrate and focus on the man sitting opposite him, all while his mind was still running over the last few sentences he had read, trying to understand their meaning.

"You heard me," Weaver said, not bothering to look up from his own piles of paper and books. "Go home."

"No, I can't…" Roger mumbled, turning back to his desk and reaching up to rub some of the exhaustion from his eyes.

"Yes. You can." Weaver said sharply. "Just go home already and get some sleep."

"Why don't you just shut up and keep working!" Rogers snapped sharply, suddenly feeling very much awake as he glared across the room. "Hell, why don't you go home, instead? Huh? Go home and be with her already!"

"She doesn't want me to be with her. And if you go home, then you can call her and talk. She _needs_ that." Weaver said calmly. He normally didn't stand for people snapping at him like that. But Rogers had become a special case. He could get away with a lot more than most over the last few years.

"I can't." Roger said, his anger fading as he deflated in his seat. "Not until I find a cure."

"You've searched for over half your life for one and found nothing." Weaver said tiredly. "What makes you think you'll suddenly find something sitting in this mess in front of you now of all places?"

"Well I can't just sit around and wait for someone else to do it!" Rogers snapped, turning to glare down at the books in front of him once more, silently cursing how damn useless they were. How could do much information give them absolutely no answers?!

Weaver sighed, finally looking up at him, his own eyes looking as heavy and drained as Killian felt. "This isn't helping."

Rogers slumped back even further down in his seat, the anger shifting as quickly as it had come into something much more miserable. "Then what will?"

"I don't know," Weaver admitted, leaning back in his seat and shrugging his shoulders. "Try throwing something."

"What?" Rogers frowned.

He shrugged at him again. "Helps me."

"Why does that not surprise me?" Rogers snorted, rolling his eyes.

Weaver took a breath, staring up at him, thinking over his words for a long moment before he said them aloud. "I love her too." He said finally. "And I want to help her in anyway I can, and right now, the help she needs is a conversation with her papa. Even if she can't be held by him. She needs to hear his voice." He leaned back over the books, scratching notes down along the side of the page. "Go home. Call her… Just talk with her."

"You're right." Rogers whispered, shutting his eyes. "I just don't want to call her without some kind of news."

"She doesn't need news. She just needs you." Weaver insisted. "Call her." He said again, more forcefully this time, still without looking up.

Rogers tensed, almost like he really was going to finally throw something, only he was going to throw it at Weaver's head. But then he relaxed and slouched even futher down in his seat until he was almost falling off it. "You're right."

"Of course I am."

Rogers rolled his eyes at the other man but still stood up, grabbing the phone from where he left it lying on the side and stepping outside into the dark hallway. He didn't really mind making the call in front of Weaver, (since there was no way he was going home to that lonely empty house and they both knew it) but at the same time he wanted to give the other man some peace and quiet so he could concentrate on everything they had collected so far. Despite his obvious belief that they would find nothing inside them, Rogers refused to give up hope and he knew Weaver did too.

Outside with only a few safety lights lining the ceiling, glowing dully onto the empty space around him, Rogers pulled Alice up his contact list and stared at her name for a few extra seconds. If nothing else, then at least this world had given him and his daughter an easier way to stay in touch with one another rather than passing letters through a third party member – especially as said third party member was no longer available for them to use. So at least now they could call or text one another whenever they wanted to have a chat. The only problem was that, as of now, Alice didn't want to chat to anyone and Rogers didn't know what he would say even if she did.

The phone rang in his ear for an age before Alice finally answered it. Rogers had just started to wonder if she was going to ignore it, in which case he was going to march back into his office and demand Weaver go home and be with her, since he was the only one left who really could. Luckily, before that could happen, the young woman's voice broke off the ringing instead.

And he almost wished she hadn't.

She sounded awful.

"Hello…" Alice mumbled, tears thick in her throat and a blocked nose forcing her to breathe through her mouth, short raspy sounds that filled any silence between them.

"Hey, starfish." Rogers whispered, hoping he sounded more cheerful than he felt. He knew Alice needed him to be positive for her right now, or else he might just make things worse.

"Oh… Hi, papa." Alice croaked, not so subtly fighting back the sobs threatening to overwhelm her.

"How… How are you holding up?" Rogers asked quietly, fighting to keep his voice clear and calm.

She didn't answer.

"Alice?" Rogers pressed.

"Mmm…" Alice mumbled, even her humming sounded high pitched and broken.

Rogers opened his mouth to comfort her but nothing came out. What could he say? What could he do to make things better for her with just his words?

The answer was nothing. Nothing he could do would ever make things better because he couldn't fix it, despite how badly he wished he could.

"I'm sorry," Rogers whispered finally, because there truly was nothing left to say.

"I gotta go." Alice's voice broke completely and he caught the beginning of her sob just before she was able to hang up on him.

She didn't even give him a chance to say goodbye.

Rogers stayed where he was for a long moment after Alice had hung up, holding the phone to his ear and feeling incredibly tense as he listened to the dial tone. Finally, he let his hand drop to his side and squeezed the phone in his grip until it hurt his hand, his body shaking as he stared down at the tilted screen where Alice's smiling display picture looked back up at him. He was suddenly caught between a tight burning fury that made him sweat and a cold despair that left him shivering.

After a shaky moment, Rogers pulled back his arm and threw the phone at the wall, letting it shatter into pieces and drop with a series of clicking sounds against the hard tile flooring. Part of the phone ricocheted against the wall to slide back to his feet again, and he suddenly found himself staring down at the exact same picture of smiling, happy Alice, but now with a great crack down the middle of her face that stopped and stabbed at the exact spot on her chest where her heart was. The sight hit Rogers almost as hard as anything else and his legs gave out under him. With no warning, he dropped to the floor, sliding down against the wall and collapsing with his legs pulled up as close to his torso as he could get before he let go.

Just like that, he broke into harsh sobs, each cry ripping through him as painfully as the poison in his heart ever could. He pressed his real and fake hand to his face in order to muffle the sound, but even so, Weaver could hear him as clear as day through the thin walls and the crack in the door. The older man paused in his research to look up towards the door, pressing his fingers to his mouth and listening in sorrowful silence until the pirates sobs finally died down into a dull echoing silence.

 **O*U*A*T**

The humming filled the back room of Roni's bar almost completely. Regina and Zelena stood around a black cauldron with their eyes shut and their hands joined over the top, their humming vibrating against their lips and leaving a tickling sensation along the sensitive skin, their eyelids twitching as they fought the temptation to take a peek down at the dark liquid stirring itself between them. The room was dark and they had put a soundproof barrier around the doorway to keep the busy bustle of the main bar crowd blocked out so as not to disturb them while they worked. They needed their full concentration focused on the potion and the potion alone.

They kept it up, working for what felt like – and probably was – hours of silent concentration and mystical humming that was growing along with the magic until it filled the room entirely. They had met up early that morning, and had immediately gone in separate directions to gather the ingredients needed before ending up back at Roni's where they had then locked themselves away from the rest of the world. It was the same thing they had done every day since… Well, since everything they worked for was destroyed by a single stupid last minute curse.

Suddenly there was a loud popping sound and the woman jumped at the noise, breaking out of their trance and releasing one another's hands. They opened their eyes, staring at each other as their minds caught up with them before looking down at where a large bubble had formed and burst in the middle of their spell, followed by several smaller bubbles and matching smaller bursts. There was a pause and they looked back up at one another, both breathing hard from the exhaustion due to the long, harsh pressure of the spell.

"Is it done?" Zelena asked, feeling more nervous now than ever before in her life. Even more than when Chad had dropped to one knee unexpectedly in front of her during the cursed years, back when her biggest worries were if she was ready for the next step with him or not. God she missed those days so much.

"I think so…" Regina breathed, glancing down at the potion before forcibly tearing her eyes away and looking firmly up at her sister. "Go get the rat."

Zelena turned and hurried to the back of the room, picking up a small silver cage from the corner of the room that held a young grey rat curled up inside. On the opposite side of the room in the opposite corner, there was a second rat with darker fur and a small barely visible mark on its tiny arm that matched the one currently sitting on both of Alice's wrists.

It hadn't been easy, recreating the curse of the poisoned heart for a rat, but Zelena and Regina had somehow managed, though it had involved changing some minor aspects of it. Since this rat didn't really have a true love strong enough to cause a real challenge for them, they simply created a 'fake' type of love, essentially tricking the spell itself. It worked in the same way as the original spell and would require the same cure to undo it at least. Now it was the perfect test subject for them to practice their cures on.

"You ready?" Regina asked her sister, trying not to let her hands shake.

"Do it." Zelena said, taking a breath and holding it.

Regina gathered a small amount of the potion into a clear vile and stepped around the cauldron to Zelena and the rat in her hands. She reached through an opening in the top of the cage and poured a drop of the potion into the empty water bowl in the corner. Then, when the rat moved over to have a sip, she poured another over its head, particularly where they had left a minor open wound behind its neck. They didn't know how it needed to be taken, so they would try every way they could.

There was a pause.

Zelena finally let out her breath, staring down at the rat. "Did it work?" She asked.

"I don't know." Regina admitted, glancing over her shoulder towards the second rat behind her. Regina nodded her head and then watched as Zelena walked around her, carrying the cage towards the other animal in a tense silence.

She had just passed the halfway point in the room when suddenly the rat began shrieking and running around in her hands. It was such a shock that Zelena almost didn't react in time. Luckily Regina did. She reached over, grabbing Zelena's arms and pulling her a safe distance back before lifting a hand and using her magic to heal the rat as best as she could. Thankfully the rat was smaller and simpler than a grown man, making it easier to heal than it had been Hook back when he and Alice had first found each other in the Enchanted Forest.

"It didn't work." Zelena whispered.

"No. It didn't." Regina said, sounding frustrated as she glared down at the rat like it was his fault the cure hadn't worked for him. Then she brushed off her own irritation, looking up and reaching over to grab onto Zelena's hand, squeezing gently. "But we won't give up. We'll try again. We'll find a cure!"

Zelena didn't respond at first. She was too busy staring down at the rat in her hands, and thinking heavily of her daughter.

"Robin's…" Zelena said finally. "She… She barely comes home any more… She spends hours just running around… Firing arrows in the woods… Picking fights with people… Acting like a thug or something…" She paused, looking up at her sister, tears gathering in her eyes. "She used to smile so much. There's was this light in her eye that never went away but positively glowed whenever she talked about Alice and… And…" She took a shaky breath, her next words coming out as a sob. "She hasn't smiled since!"

Regina waved a hand, the cage disappearing in a cloud of purple smoke and reappearing back in place across the room again. Then, she opened her arms and let Zelena fall into them, holding her while she began sobbing into her little sister's shoulder.

Regina hugged her sister close, shutting her eyes and gently stroking the back of her hair gently. No one had been stronger these last few weeks than Zelena. She had been doing everything she could, including spending hours talking to her daughter and trying to get her to act like her old self, ignoring every venomous word her child spat at her, even when Robin got really nasty. And Regina could see that it was slowly breaking Zelena inside. But still she put on a brave face and she kept trying, day after day, being the punching bag for her own kid to take her anger out on during the rare moments she wasn't using every ounce of magic inside her to find a cure. But despite how strong she was being, it was only a matter of time before she truly shut down from the pressure of it all. And then God knows what she would do.

"Okay," Regina said when Zelena's sobs eased slightly, grabbing her shoulders and pushing her back. "We can do this." She said firmly. "Your daughter will not suffer the same as we did. She will not lose her true love." She squeezed her shoulders gently and repeated her earlier promise. "We won't give up."

"No." Zelena sobbed, reaching up and wiping away the tears. "We won't." She turned back the cauldron, tears still in her voice but as always, she pushed on. "So what do we try next?"

 **O*U*A*T**

"Morning, sweetheart." Jacinda said with a strained smile, rushing around the kitchen, trying to get everything ready in time. "How'd you sleep?"

"Okay," Lucy shrugged, walking over and taking a seat at the table.

"Eat fast, okay hone?" Jacinda said, running back and forth, collecting food for the trip. "I need to drop you off with Sabine early so Henry and I can get going. Otherwise we won't make it back this evening and you'll have to stay with her and Naveen for another night."

"Why can't I come with you?" Lucy begged, pushing her toast away after just a single corner bite.

"I'm really sorry, Luce, but you need to stay here where it's safe." Jacinda said, pausing to look sadly down at the young girl. "We have no idea what we'll face out there, hunting these people down like this, and we don't want to put you in any danger."

"I can take care of myself." Lucy insisted.

"Lucy, please, don't do this now." Jacinda sighed. "We don't have time to argue. Your dad is gonna bring the car around soon and we'll be back as quick as we can. Now eat your breakfast."

Something inside the eleven year old girl snapped and she jumped to her feet, chair scraping loudly on the floor before tipping over behind her with an equally loud clatter. "You haven't even found anyone yet!" Lucy snapped. "Despite all your searching- You- You're just running around like idiots!"

"Lucy!" Jacinda looked up at her daughter, shocked by her surprise outburst.

"ALICE AND ROBIN ARE _MY_ FAMILY TOO!" Lucy shrieked at her before spinning and running into her bedroom where she slammed the door shut behind her.

Jacinda stood for a second, frozen in shock and a touch of worried confusion, unsure what to do. Lucy was normally such a good kid. The only time she had been like this was with Henry when she and Regina had been unable to wake him from the curse. Jacinda almost didn't know what to do next, when she felt a sudden weight push down on her and she sighed, setting down the food she had been about to put in the lunch bags and walking around the table into the hallway. Even before she reached her door, she could hear her daughter crying, muffling her sobs as best as she could into her pillow on the other side.

"Lucy…" Jacinda said, not bothering to knock like she would normally and simply letting herself inside.

Lucy didn't look up. She was half lying on her bed, half hanging off, hugging her pillow and crying into the soft surface. She didn't react, or even look up when Jacinda walked towards her and her mother took her place on the bed by her side, reaching over and combing her fingers through Lucy's hair softly. She sat in silence, waiting and watching until Lucy calmed herself down when she was ready to be calm. She knew there was a limited amount of time before Henry came back with the car, ready to go for their next trip, but this couldn't be helped. Before anything else, Jacinda was Lucy's mother and her baby girl would always come first.

After a shorter time than Jacinda expected, Lucy was able to lift her head from her pillow. She sat up, sniffing sadly to herself and reached to brush her long hair from her face before she finally looked up at her mother. Her wide brown eyes were still flooded with tears and she took several shaky breaths before she was able to speak and even then, she looked very much on the verge of bursting out again at a moments notice.

"I want to help," Lucy sobbed. "Please, mum. I need to help them."

"I know you do, baby." Jacinda said, reaching over and pushing some of her hair behind her ear. "But the truth is, you can't. Not with us anyway. But you could help Alice and Robin some other ways. Maybe if you call them. Or you could ask Sabine to take you for a visit?" She brushed some tears from her cheek for her. "Sometimes just being there for someone is the best way to help them."

Lucy shook her head. "That won't help them be together."

Jacinda sighed. "I know… But that doesn't make it any less important."

Just then, they heard the front door opening and the two girls waited for Henry to find them. "Hey… Is everything okay?" He asked, catching sight of his daughter's teary eyed face. "Lucy, what's the matter?"

Henry walked quickly over to them, crouching down beside the bed and putting one arm around Lucy's back and resting a hand on his wife's knee. He had a feeling he knew what the tension was about – same thing it was about for everyone these last few weeks.

"Yeah, it's fine." Jacinda said, then glanced at her daughter. "We'll call you when we get to New York, okay?"

"Who are you going to talk to this time?" Lucy sniffed.

"An old friend of mine," Henry said, smiling sadly at her. "He mostly just goes by The Dragon and he disappeared for a while but he's resurfaced now… So we kind of need to rush if we're going to catch him before he disappears again." He added, glancing towards Jacinda meaningfully.

"Go." Lucy said before her mother could. "I don't want to risk being the reason you lose your chance to help them." She said, her voice catching slightly.

Jacinda paused, then leaned over and kissed Lucy's temple. "Come on then," she said quickly, patting her back.

Just a few short minutes later, Jacinda and Henry were waving to Lucy and Sabine as they drove the car down the street, turning a corner and disappearing out of sight. Sabine squeezed Lucy's shoulder, hugging the young girl close as they watched the car fade before turning and guiding her inside where a hot meal was already waiting for her. After all, if Lucy was anything like her mother, then she probably didn't eat anything properly before coming out today.

Meanwhile, as soon as they were out of sight and could trust their daughter could no longer see them, Jacinda leaned her head against the window, ignoring the vibration that rumbled against her skull. She took a deep breath, shutting her eyes like she could block out all the pain in the world. She felt so exhausted. They had been on the road for hours at a time every day for the last few weeks and it was amazing how tiring it could be to just sit in one place for long stretches of time.

Jacinda felt Henry as he reached over, placing his hand on top of her knee and squeezing gently, passing on his support through physical touch. Without opening her eyes, she reached down and placed her hand on top of his, squeezing back and entwining their fingers together.

Another day down. Another one to start. Now all they could do was hope The Dragon knew something the other thousand of people they previously visited didn't.

 **O*U*A*T**

The house was just finally starting to feel like a home again, and now they had to push all the furniture up against the walls like they had first moved in because every time the spell backfired on them, something ended up charred or broken from the force of the blow-back. They'd already lost their favourite coffee table and there was no way they'd be sitting on that sofa comfortably again, at least not until they had replaced all the cushions on it. And that wasn't even touching on what they had done to themselves. The bruises that lines their bodies could have been hung in one of those niche galleries where people threw paint at the paper and called it art.

"Drizzy," Anastasia said, the warning in her voice echoing over the cracking of her magic. "Get back!"

Drizella turned and dived to the side just as the blast of magic Anastasia had been building burst back at them. Anastasia was thrown off her feet, flipping through the air before she hit the wall sideways and slid down hard to the ground. Drizella, who had ducked behind the door just in time, felt the wooden surface crash into her shoulder, breaking the bone and crushing her into the wall where she was temporarily pinned. Only when the magic died down was she able to push the door back and move away from the wall, immediately running across the room, ignoring her own pain to kneel down beside her crumpled sister.

"Ana! Ana, are you okay?!" She gasped, cringing as her arm swung freely by her side.

"I'm okay." Anastasia gasped, pushing herself up and wincing at the broken ribs along her side. She paused, waving a hand along her side and healing the bones instantly. Then she turned and did the same for Drizella, healing all of the old bruises as well as the broken bones. "See. All better."

"That's enough, Ana." Drizella said, helping her stand. "You go rest. I'll try something else for a bit."

"No. I'm staying with you, Drizzy. Besides. It's your magic as much as mine that I'm using." Anastasia said, remembering how Gothel had tricked her into absorbing her sister's powers back in Hyperion Heights. "It should be your magic that finds a cure."

Drizella paused, then nodded sadly, looking at the floor. "It should be my magic." She agreed. "After what I did… The way I used Alice back in the Enchanted Forest-"

"Hey," Anastasia said, placing a hand on her sister's elbow. "You're doing the right thing now."

"Doesn't change what I did then." Drizella said miserably.

"You can't change what you did." Anastasia nodded. "But you can make up for it. And that's what you're doing." She paused. "Shall we try again?"

"Only if you're up for it." Drizella said quickly.

"I am." Anastasia nodded firmly.

Together the sisters walked over to the only piece of furniture they hadn't moved out of the way. It was a round table, plain and wooden with a single leg that stretched down and then out into four short legs to keep it standing. Sitting on top of the smooth surface was a familiar looking fungus they had collected on their way home one late evening spent travelling to a nearby town for supplies. It was large, red with small white dots and there were a sharp cut along the top, allowing some of its clear poison juices to drip freely down onto the table. They'd burn the table once they were done but until then, they hoped to get as close to the poison as they could in order to find its cure.

Anastasia retook her place by the table while Drizella hovered closely behind her. She was hoping her physical presence would be enough to give her sister both emotional and magical encouragement, strength and support. Other than that, there was little for her to do despite this whole thing being her idea, and her fault.

When they had received word from Regina, asking for them to send an ingredient to help make a cure back in the Heights, Drizella was hit was a sudden memory of a past act she never made up for. It was when she had tricked Alice into think she was cured of this very curse and sent her seeking after her father, just to bring Henry and Jacinda to Wonderland so she could poison Henry's heart. All in the convoluted idea that this would prevent them from breaking her curse with True Love's Kiss and allowing her revenge against her cold mother. Ironically it ended up bringing them together, but more importantly, in the process of her failed plan, she had also nearly caused Alice to kill her father.

She hadn't given it any thought before now. But then there was a lot Drizella needed to make up for, to her sister most of all, and she hadn't really had time to consider anyone else. At least until Regina told her Alice had lost the only other person she loved in life. Being alone… Drizella knew that feeling quite well. And it was something that now Alice was forced to suffer through. Apart from tricking her that one time, she and Alice had never spoken and yet they suddenly had a connection through a shared misery, even if Alice didn't know it. And in that moment, at that thought, Drizella knew what she had to do. Or at least she had to try.

Luckily she had a sister who was willing to waste her time helping her.

"Ready?" Anastasia asked her.

"Ready." Drizella nodded.

Anastasia brought her hands together, holding them over the mushroom and focusing on it once again. A few short seconds later, her hands began to glow with an aqua blue light of magic that shone down on the mushroom and its weeping poison. The light was almost blinding and Drizella squinted against it, but refused to look away all the same. She may not have magic, but that didn't mean she couldn't silently will her sister's magic to work for them instead.

A few minutes later, the magic was thrown back at them once more and once more the girls were tossed off their feet around the room along with the furniture, even as it was pressed against the walls. Drizella landed awkwardly, spraining her ankle and badly cutting her elbow on a piece of broken glass from one of the windows that shattered with the thrown back this time, while Anastasia was lifted off her feet entirely and hit the ceiling way overhead. She had to use her magic to avoid breaking her neck when she dropped back to the floor again, but it still resulted in a very sore hip and backside from the impact of it when she twisted around at the last possible second.

They whimpered and moaned quietly, self pitying over their injuries, before Anastasia managed to heal herself and drag her way over to do the same for Drizella. Afterwards they took another moment to catch their breath, turning to face the mushroom still sitting neatly up on the table behind them. They would have a proper break to eat in a few minutes, but for now, they would keep trying, again and again, until they had some kind of breakthrough. They were in communication with Regina now – thanks to an enchanted mirror that connected their two worlds together – so they would be able to talk to her first thing should they get anywhere with it. And if not, then Drizella hoped Regina would use it to let them know she had found something instead, which, at this point, seemed more likely. Despite their many attempts with the source of the poison, it didn't seem like they were getting anywhere. Even with Drizella and Anastasia's magic combined.

"Come on. Let's go again." Drizella said, shaking her head. They couldn't wait around for the others to find a way. Even if they could, she didn't want to. Not after what she did to her.

"Right." Anastasia nodded, stepping forward and taking her place by the table once more.

"Let me know when you want to call it a day." Drizella said quickly.

"You too," Anastasia nodded.

But despite their words, they both knew neither was going to quit until the other did. In fact, if it weren't for Anastasia and Drizella's stomachs letting out twin growls of hunger, they probably would have been at it all night.

 **O*U*A*T**

There was nothing better than a warm beignet, fresh from the fryer, and yet neither Lucy nor Sabine could force down any of the batch she had made for them. Instead they pulled them apart in their hands and nibbled on the edges until they were cold and soggy in their fingers. Then they just gave up pretending to eat altogether and set the broken pieces back down on the plate, leaving them to grow stale on the table without a second thought about the waste it was.

"Has Alice come to work lately?" Lucy asked, rolling a piece of flaky pastry that hadn't quite cooked properly between her palms.

"No. Not since… You know." Sabine sighed, shaking her head. "I tried taking some beignets to her once. And to Robin."

"What happened?" Lucy asked.

"Alice didn't answer the door. And Weaver was out so I left them outside for her." Sabine shrugged. "He told me he found them still sitting there early the next morning when he got home."

"Oh…" Lucy mumbled. "And Robin?"

"She told me she wasn't hungry. Then, when I didn't leave right away, she shot an arrow through the paper bag and spilled the lot all on the ground for the birds." Sabine said. She didn't sound angry about it. Just sad.

"Oh…" Lucy repeated.

"It'll be okay, Luce. They'll find a way." Sabine said, smiling softly at her.

"I want to help them find a way!" Lucy hissed. "I hate just sitting around! Rogers and Weaver are doing book research, Regina and Zelena are working on a potion, and mum and dad are travelling to ask experts all around the world. Even Drizella and Anastasia are using their magic to try and do something back in the Enchanted Forest." Lucy said in frustration. "And I'm just sitting here eating beignets!"

"There's nothing you can do." Sabine said, reaching over to take her hand.

"No. I refuse to believe that." Lucy said stubbornly. "I just don't understand. True love can break any curse! Yet it won't work here for this one? And we all love Alice and Robin! So why can't any of us help them?!"

"Oh honey, you know magic's more complicated than that." Sabine sighed.

"No! No it is not!" Lucy snapped. "True Love can break any curse! That's what dad _always_ told me. It's what his grandparents always told him! It's how it's always been! True Love can do anything! So why can't it cure their hearts? Why can't Rumplestiltskin kiss Alice? Why can't Zelena kiss Robin? Why can't Regina? Or Henry? Or mum? Or me?! Why can't all of us-" Lucy stopped dead mid sentence.

"Lucy?" Sabine said nervously, reaching to take her other hand as well.

"That's it…" Lucy whispered.

"What's it?" Sabine frowned.

"I've figured it out!" Lucy went on, ignoring her and jumping to her feet.

Sabine stood up with her. "Lucy, what are you talking about?"

"You need to call my mum, right away." Lucy said, running passed her to the door. "I'll go get Regina and the others. Call Weaver, too!"

"Lucy!" Sabine shouted, but Lucy was already halfway out the door. "Wait!"

Without pausing, Lucy ran down the steps and out the apartment building, darting down the street as fast as her little legs could take her. Behind her, she heard Sabine shouting and trying to give chase but Lucy knew she wouldn't be able to catch her, and when that happened Sabine would call her parents regardless of what happened next, even if only to tell them that Lucy had done a runner on her and was missing. That would no doubt bring them rushing back to town for her safety anyway.

Good. Lucy needed everyone to come back. Everyone had to come together. All of them. Every last person who was doing everything they could to reunite Alice and Robin.

And they were going to break this curse together once and for all.

It didn't take her long to get to Roni's.

 **O*U*A*T**

She should have expected that it wouldn't be so easy. Sabine's reaction said enough on its own but after she reached Roni's bar, it was made even more clearer when Regina and Zelena brushed her aside almost as soon as she stepped into the room. They simply told her to go home and let them handle everything on their own, along with the usual nonsense about not worrying, which was just ridiculous. How could she _not_ worry?!

In the end, Lucy had to get imaginative.

Getting to Roni's had been easy, but finding Robin had proved much more difficult. If she could have broken into her apartment, she would have gone to Alice instead, but she knew she couldn't do that (physically or legally) and she also knew nothing she said would get Alice to open the door to her. According to what her dad had said after meeting with Weaver one evening a few days ago, she didn't do anything except hide away in her room. In fact Weaver had to physically force her to eat every evening, let alone get her up and answering the door to visitors. So she was better of searching for Robin for now. Still. It wasn't easy. All Lucy could go on was the fact that she heard Robin was constantly out and about, never wanting to sit or stay in any place for too long a time.

It took her a long while, but she did eventually find her.

Robin was in a cluster of trees in a spot on the edge of the local park. It was the closest the young archer could get to a forest away from other people. At the moment she was dressed in a plain green vest and tight black trousers with brown boots to match the brown gloves on either hand. She had her arrows stretched across her back and her bow in hand and she was firing one after another into the nearby trees at random, an angry scowl on her face, nose flaring from the deep, sharp breaths she was taking and despite being a trained hunter, she didn't even notice Lucy loudly approaching until she accidentally turned an arrow on her.

"Jesus!" Robin shouted, spinning her arms away and lowering her weapon. "Lucy! Are you crazy?! Don't sneak up on a person like that!"

"I didn't sneak," Lucy shrugged, walking over to her. She opened her mouth but could barely get the first syllable out before Robin was turning away from her again.

"Go away, Lucy." Robin said coldly.

"I just-"

"I SAID GO AWAY!" Robin shouted, firing three arrows one after another into the same spot on the same tree, splintering themselves as well as the bark they were intended for.

It frightened Lucy, seeing her acting this way. The only Robin she'd ever known was a fun loving Robin who would play games with her and make her laugh because she loved seeing Lucy's smile. Now she didn't seem to care, in fact she was acting in a violent way, a way that Lucy didn't even know her kind second cousin had in her. But despite her fear, the young girl refused to step down. Instead she spoke quickly, taking another sharp step forward. "I will! But I need your phone! I need to ask mum and dad to come back home so they can let me back in the house! I got locked out! Please, Robin!"

Before all of this happened, Robin would have had the sense to ask Lucy where her parents were. Or why she didn't go ask Roni or Sabine for their phones instead. But all of this had happened and so, without hesitation, Robin reached into her back pocket and tossed the phone over her shoulder without a second look to see if she had it. Lucy rushed forward, grabbing it just before it hit the ground and clutching it tightly to her chest.

With the phone in hand, Lucy hesitated, glancing up but Robin's back remained to her. When she still didn't spare so much as a quick look back at her, Lucy turned and broke into a sharp run. She waited to hear Robin's shout when she realised Lucy had ditched with her phone but the angry cry never came. And when Lucy slowed down and glanced back over her shoulder, she caught sight of Robin's face just as she turned away again. She had clearly noticed, but she also clearly didn't care in the slightest. Instead she was focused back on shooting at the trees once more.

In a way, that just assured Lucy that she couldn't sit around and wait for the others any longer.

With the phone still clenched in hand, Lucy walked the way she had came and picked a meaningful spot to have her meeting. Once there, she made herself comfortable on the troll bridge anticipating a short wait. Then, as she settled on one of its thick stone knuckles, Lucy began sending out a series of text messages to everyone on Robin's contact list, one after another, pretending to be Robin and telling them that Gothel was back.

Everyone came running at that. Some with an… Interesting choice of weapon in hand.

"Really?" Lucy asked, raising an eyebrow at Naveen as he jogged around the corner. "A tennis racket?"

"I… You… What… Where's Gothel?!" He demanded, looking around the already full area where the others were either sitting, standing or leaning against the troll statue under bridge along with Lucy, each looking a mixture of confused and irritated by their summons.

"Seems Lucy was a bit impatient at getting our attention." Regina said dryly, rolling her eyes and looking towards her granddaughter with the slightest frown.

"And she's going to be in trouble for it once we get her home." Henry said coldly. "That wasn't funny, Lucy and this isn't a game."

"I know that!" Lucy snapped, jumping down from the troll to stand in the middle of the group, turning to look at all of them all in turn. "Which is why you all owe Alice and Robin an apology! I had the answer right in my hands and none of you would listen to it!"

"Lucy, we don't have time for this." Weaver said, shaking his head and pushing away from his spot by the trolls thumb, starting to walk towards where he and Rogers had messily left their car parked at an angle in the road.

"I can cure them!" Lucy snapped at him. "Why won't you just listen to me!"

"Weaver." Rogers said suddenly, causing the other man to come to a short stop and look back at him with a tired expression on his face, like he already knew there was no point arguing with him.

"Hook…" Henry said gently.

"Quiet!" Rogers snapped at him, then looked back at Lucy, thick dark bags hanging under his eyes surrounded by pale skin and a clear desperation in his voice. "Tell me what you've found."

Lucy smiled up at them. "True Love." She stated proudly.

"Oh for heaven's sake." Zelena said, turning to walk off.

"WAIT!" Lucy snapped, turning and climbing back onto the troll, standing up so she was looking down on them. "Just listen to me! True Love is the most powerful magic there ever was! It can break any curse! Including this one!"

"Lucy, we've already tried that." Weaver sighed, thinking of the kiss Zelena had given her daughter right after she had been cursed. "It's not powerful enough."

"Not together we haven't." Lucy smirked, putting her hands on her hips and grinning down at them.

Finally, that made them pause. Zelena turned back from where she had been by the road and Weaver finally wandered back to stand beside Rogers once more. Even Naveen and Sabine shared a look between them, curious frowns on their foreheads as they considered what it was Lucy was trying to say.

"Wait, what?" Sabine frowned.

"True Love's magic is so powerful. But you're right, great-grandpa. It's not powerful enough. Not on its own. But together, with all of us, it could be! Just think about it! If True Love Kiss between two people who love each other is powerful enough to break any curse… Just imagine what the True Love of half a dozen people working together could do?"

Another pause, everyone glancing around at one another, taking it in and thinking it over. Henry and Jacinda looked towards each other, Jacinda mouthing something to him which Henry replied with a shrug.

"Kid might be on to something here." Sabine said, a soft smile growing into a wide grin.

Regina moved to stand by Lucy's foot. "That's all well and good, but how would it even work? I mean we can't all take turns kissing them." Regina said, rolling her eyes. "And kissing them all together might be a bit crowded."

"And awkward." Zelena snorted, but her crossed arms were shaking and there was a strained look in her eyes as she glanced around. Underneath her attempt at a cool appearance, she was begging someone to have the answer. After all this time, she begged for one of them to know some kind of loop hole to get them around this mess.

"Well maybe it doesn't have to be a true love kiss." Lucy explained. "Maybe just an act of true love would be enough. All of us coming together and focusing that love towards them. I don't know, maybe that could do it."

"Magic doesn't work that way, Lucy." Weaver sighed.

"Just hear me out!" Lucy snapped. She was starting to get more than a little frustrated with the way they kept brushing aside her ideas, especially when her ideas were the only ones even close to making sense. At least compared to what the rest of them had been doing. They really were running around like blind chickens, just waiting for a random spring of luck to give them the answer.

But then Weaver surprised her. "I'm not arguing with you." Weaver said, walking over to stand on her other side, opposite Regina. "In fact, Sabine's right. You're most certainly onto something here."

Lucy had been expected another fight and was temporarily caught off guard. She felt oddly proud and grinned down at him. "Then what can we do?" She pressed. She could brag to them all about how she had found the answer once they had fixed things between Alice and Robin.

"There must be some way for us to… Harnass our love for the girls and to bottle it somehow, into some kind of cure." Weaver said thoughtfully, thinking of the time he had finally managed to bottle True Love from Snow White and her Prince Charming. "If we could just find an object or a spell, something that was used to gather magic into a single place to be used later. Well maybe we could gather all our love into it instead."

"Yeah, but what?" Jacinda frowned. "Theres not exactly very many magical objects just hanging around here in the Heights."

"Not many… But there is one." Zelena mumbled, so quietly that they almost didn't hear her and even then they wondered what it could be she was thinking of.

Before anyone could ask, Regina caught on. "Wait, you don't mean…" She shook her head quickly. "That isn't even close to its original purpose!"

Zelena was undisturbed by Regina's doubts. "Well most curses were made up from someone combining different spells." Zelena shrugged. "Why can't we play around with magical objects and create something new as well?"

"What are you talking about?" Rogers frowned.

"The resurrection amulet." Regina mumbled, scowling at her sister suspiciously. She didn't want to be harsh on her, knowing she was desperate for her daughters sake, but it was also a crazy idea!

"How does that even work?" Naveen blinked, looking around at them. "I mean, I've never heard of it before but it sounds pretty self explanatory. How do we turn something that brings people back into a power source to project love?"

"It's a little more complicated than that." Regina sighed.

"The amulet needed magic to get working again. So theoretically… If we could tinker with it, maybe we could get it to absorb the magic in our love rather than just our magic. And then again, if we tinkered with it, we could use it to send that magic out to the girls rather than bringing back a life." Zelena explained.

"You are clawing desperately at bent straws," Weaver said, rolling his eyes at them.

"We all are!" Rogers snapped, rounding on him with his fists clenched. "Now are you going to help or just complain uselessly?"

Weaver stared at Rogers coldly, unintimidated. "I care about her too. I'm not being negative because I get a kick out of bringing everyone else down. I'm doing it because we can't rush into anything. Lucy has a good idea, but if we just jump blindly at the first idea we have, we could end up doing more harm than good." He paused and looked around the group. "It took the Black Fairy months to combine her spells and even then, it didn't work until she was banished and had thousands of years of dark magic to work with. Not to mention she wasn't tinkering with anything. She was combining two clear things which is actually much easier than what you want to do." He paused again. "And on top of _that_ … You don't tinker with something and have it magically work right away. You'd have to test it, which not only means risking someone's life but also means draining the very power we want to use."

"What do you mean?" Lucy blinked.

"Love is powerful, Lucy. But even that power has its limits." Weaver explained. "I can't say what the limits are, and maybe they would be enough for a million tests runs, but it could just as easily be one test, if even that. The point is, we need to be careful about what we do and how we do it. We may only get one shot to try."

There was a gloomy silence. "Okay. So what do we do?" Jacinda asked.

"We keep brainstorming." Rogers said firmly. "We will think of a way."

While everyone began to fight for a chance to talk, throwing ideas back and forth between themselves, occasionally talking as on group while other times speaking in pairs and threes, Henry moved silently over to Lucy. He smiled up at her and reached a hand, helping her back down to the ground. "Good job, sweetheart. I'm so proud of you."

Lucy beamed up at him, feeling a warm burst in her chest. This was all she had wanted. To be able to do something to actually help rather than standing on the sidelines like she had been doing.

"I'm also sorry. I should have listened to you before." Henry nodded.

"Yeah. You should have." Lucy said with a slight smirk. "Remember this next time I ask to borrow the car."

"You're not funny." Henry said, returning his daughters smirking before pulling her into a tight hug. Because he really was proud of her. She truly was her grandmother's granddaughter. Achieving the impossible. And saving everyone so they could all have a happy ending… Together.

 **O*U*A*T**

When Weaver returned home, he was unsurprised to see nothing had changed in his absence. He wandered towards the bedroom (the only one he had, which resulted in him sleeping on the couch in his own apartment) and found Alice curled up into a tight ball in the middle of the mattress. She had the sheets lifted over her head and was almost silent. He nearly thought she was asleep before he saw her body give a slight shake from the sobs she was barely holding back, going still before shaking again a few seconds later.

"Alice…" Weaver said slowly, walking across the room and sitting on the edge of the bed. "Alice, I know you're awake."

"Please…" Came a barely audible reply and he knew what was coming. The same thing she said whenever he tried talking to her. "Please… Can I be left alone…?"

"I'm sorry, Alice. But I need you to come with me." Weaver said quietly.

"I don't want to." Alice whimpered.

Weaver sighed, turning away from her to stare at the wall. He wrapped his hands together, almost like he was going to start praying except he was also letting them hang where his elbows rested on his knees. For a long moment he was completely silent, listening to Alice's smothered cries and tearful whimpers. Weaver took a deep breath, thinking things over, once again choosing each of his words carefully, and when he spoke once more, he was still staring at the wall intensely because what was coming next was going to hurt.

"I've let you mope around for a long time, Alice, because I didn't know what else to do. No one has ever been in your situation before. Even when I couldn't be with Belle… Well… It was my own fault and in most ways I still could be with her. So I've let you handle it your own way because no one has a right to tell you what you should do and how you should handle the way you feel." Weaver turned back to the lump. "But that's over now. It's time to get up. So either do it yourself, or I'll do it, magically or physically, you're coming with me." He paused. "The choice is yours."

For a moment it seemed like she wasn't going to move, in which case he began to build his magic towards his hands when... "I hate you." Alice sobbed.

"That's okay," Weaver shrugged. "Because you can hate me while you get dressed."

Weaver left Alice crying as he stepped outside. He waited until he had shut the door behind him, and her head poking out from under the sheets couldn't see him before he shut his eyes and winced, leaning back against the wall. How dumb was it to care so much about what a young woman thought when she wasn't even related to him? How stupid was it to let her emotional words actually hurt him? But the truth was, without Belle and his sons; Rumplestiltskin didn't have much left in this world… Except Alice.

Weaver was in the middle of making toast when Alice finally stepped outside the bedroom. She'd done this many times to drag herself to the bathroom and back but now she was actually dressed for once. Although, even dressed she looked awful. Her clothes were layered with wrinkles, her socks were mismatched and her coat was barely hanging onto her shoulders, but, hey, at least she'd managed to pull it all on for once.

She stood in the open doorway, staring at him. There were dark bags under her eyes with a slight redness from how hard she had been rubbing at her face during the constant tears, and under the red she was extremely pale, including her lips which were pressed tightly together like she had a secret she was refusing to tell even under torture. She positively glared at the older man for a few seconds, but then even that proved tiring and she let her expression crumble and her body sagged slightly. Weaver wasn't sure how on Earth she was even able to stay standing while she looked so helpless and weak.

"Come. Eat." Weaver commanded, pushing a piece of buttered toast across the bench towards her.

Alice shook her head, not moving from the bedroom doorway. If anything she seemed to turn a little paler at the sight of the food and cringed away from it.

"Eat." Weaver repeatedly firmly. "We need to leave soon."

"Leave?" Alice frowned, forcing herself to take a small step forward. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see when we get there. But we're not going until to eat a slice of toast." Weaver said, leaning against the counter and watching her closely.

Alice glared at him, but again her expression wavered and she gave up being angry after just a few seconds. She didn't have the strength to do much of anything and that was more worrying than if she had truly hated him.

Slowly she crossed the room, picking up the toast and cringing at the sight of it. She forced her mouth open like it was wired shut and took all her strength before finally taking a small bite of the corner, wincing at the rubbery taste in left in her mouth. It wasn't Weaver's cooking. He was a pretty decent chief. It was just that everything tasted like rubber and dirt, ever since she had lost the last bit of true happiness in her life.

"Things are going to get better, Alice." Weaver said after a moment.

"Oh whatever." Alice grumbled, swallowing the last piece in her mouth like it was a cyanide pill.

 **O*U*A*T**

"Robin?"

A fresh hot burn of anger flared inside Robin and she had to resist the urge to point her arrows at the person intruding on her private moment. Instead she ignored them completely, firing an arrow towards the sky and bringing down her fifth bird of the day, littering her feet and just waiting for some animal to come and pick their remains for their meal tonight.

"Since when do you kill for sport?" Regina asked, walking closer to her young niece.

"Since I stopped caring." Robin snarled, aiming towards the sky now and waiting for a bird to come into her view.

"Please," Regina snorted. "You have not stopped caring. If you had, you wouldn't be so angry all the time and taking it out on the poor defenceless animals of this land." She paused and smirked slightly. "You still care about a lot."

"Oh shut up!" Robin snapped, rounding on her angrily. "And piss off!"

Regina's eyes widened. "Oh, I know you did not just say that." She took a step closer towards her. "You may get away with speaking to your mother that way, young lady. But not me."

"Oh yeah, yeah." Robin said, rolling her eyes. "Big bad Evil Queen. You forget, I am not afraid of you."

Regina did a double take. "What on Earth are you talking about? Robin, I don't want you to be afraid of me! I want you to lean on me and cry and accept support and comfort."

"Well I'm not doing that either," Robin sneered.

"Come on, Robin… I understand-" Regina said softly, walking towards her and reaching out a hand out.

"You don't understand anything!" Robin shouted. "All your misery is your own fault and you know it!" Regina came to a sharp, shocked stop mid step. "You lost everyone because you were evil and refused their help! You forget, I've read Henry's book, I know your story! You killed your own dad, ran away from your own soul mate, pushed everyone away when they tried to help you in favour of hurting everyone else. You deserve every bit of misery you got. But Alice-!" She cut herself off at her love's name, a name she hadn't said aloud of weeks. Taking a deep and frustrated breath, she glared at her aunt. "I won't say it again. Piss off and leave me alone."

Regina shook her head. "No, Robin. We are family. I'm not going to let you fall into the darkness any more."

"Oh my God!" Robin shouted, turning away from her. "Piss off, aunt Regina. I don't need your help or anyone's for that matter. I'm fine all by myself."

Regina shook her head at the other girl. She couldn't believe this. She had never seen Robin behave this way before. Even when she was a bit of a grumpy teenage and going through some mood swings, she'd never acted to vile towards another human being. Regina had never believed for one second that her niece had the possibility of turning dark, at least not until she had seen her like this, now. It scared her and she knew they only had one chance to save Robin from herself before it was too late.

"Alright, let's go." Regina commanded.

Robin paused and glanced over her shoulder at her. "What?" She frowned.

"We're going. Come on. We don't have time to dilly-dally." Regina said strictly.

"Are you stupid? I'm not going anywhere! Not with you. Not with anyone!" Robin snapped.

Regina took a breath. "Enough, Robin. Enough with the insults and enough with the threats. We're leaving. Now."

"Go. Away." Robin said coldly, looking back towards the trees once more.

"Fine. Have it your way." Regina growled.

Before Robin could fire off any more shots at her natural surroundings, Regina had waved her hand and knocked the younger girl unconscious with a quick and silent spell. Robin dropped her bow and arrow to the ground and quickly followed them, slumping in a slight pile on the ground and snoozing soundly.

"You stupid girl," Regina sighed, walking over and crouching down beside her, reaching over to brush some hair from her sweet face, sad, even in her sleep. "I promise… Things will be better soon."

With that, Regina waved her hand once more and the two of them were picked up in a cloud of purple smoke, transported back to Roni's bar where everyone else was already waiting for them.

 **O*U*A*T**

When Weaver guided Alice inside the room, she was surprised to find it was quite full despite the Closed sign that was hung against the window in the door. A crowd of familiar faces were hovering in the seats and by the walls and it was only then that she realised there was more to this visit than just getting Alice out of the apartment for a few hours of fresh air and excersize.

"What's going on?" Alice asked, glancing around nervously, surprised to find everyone she knew was there, even her papa who was standing tightly pressed against the corner of the room out of her way from her.

"Quickly, sweetheart," Zelena said, rushing over and grabbing her arms, pulling her across the room to a safe distance. "Come stand over here."

"What's going on?" Alice repeated, more forcefully even as she let herself be guided towards the wall on the far end of the room from her papa.

Before she could say anything else, there was a sudden clap of purple smoke over by where her father was still standing, watching her with sad, loving eyes. Alice forced herself to look away from him, fighting the painful ache building in her chest, and towards the smoke instead. Once that cleared away, Alice gasped at the sight of her love, lying on the floor at her aunt's feet, unconscious.

"What is going on?!" Alice shouted, her voice stirring Robin from her forced slumber.

"What…" Robin moaned, sitting up and blinking the sleep from her eyes. The first thing she noticed was the soft pinching feeling in her chest. Not enough to hurt, but definitely noticeable. The second thing she noticed was the woman she loved standing across the room from her and suddenly she was breathless from both joy and sadness at the same time. "Alice…" She croaked.

"Is everyone ready?" Regina asked, looking around the room.

Alice opened her mouth to scream at them one final time when Rogers spoke up. "Don't worry, Stafish. We're going to fix things."

"What…" Robin blinked, standing and watching as the pirate stepped up beside her.

"The truth is, ever since you were cursed, we have all been working separately to try and find a way to undo it and cure you both." Regina explained as she began moving to stand beside Robin taking her hand at the same time as Rogers took the other. There was something wrapped around their small fingers, something rough that scratched against Robin's skin but that she barely paid any attention to all the same.

"We'll admit, we weren't doing so great," Henry said, taking his mother and wife's hands.

"But then Lucy had an idea." Jacinda said proudly, taking Lucy's hand while her daughter reached for her great grandfather who, in turn, reached over for Alice's. Across from her, Rogers took Sabine's hand, who took Naveen's, who took Zelena's who also reached out and she snatched Alice's hand, gripping just enough that she couldn't pull away. Not that she really tried. She was still too shocked to do more than stand there, letting herself be moved around like a puppet, not even noticing the rough thing wrapped around Weaver and Zelena's little fingers, just like what everyone else was wearing.

"I don't understand." Alice whispered, looking around the room.

"We all love you." Sabine said. "All of us. Ever since you were cursed, we've all been doing everything we could to fix things for you because you two don't deserve this. But nothing was working, until Lucy realised what we all knew but hadn't realised we could actually use. Our love. True love is the most powerful magic that can cure any curse after all, and now we're going to use it to help the two of you."

"But how?" Robin croaked, she was shaking in her aunt and Rogers' grip and they both gave her a gentle squeeze of support that did nothing to ease her terrified nerves.

"Your mother, Rumple and I… Are going to channel it." Regina explained.

There was a moment's pause. Then; "That sounds made up," Robin snorted, pulling her hands free.

Regina reached over and forcefully grabbed her again watching as Rogers did the same. They refused to let go, even when she scowled at them angrily. It was only then that Regina noticed her niece was doing everything in her power not to look towards Alice a second time. It must hurt her so much to be here, in the room, so close to her and yet still so far away, which simply assured Regina they were truly doing the right thing even while Robin continued to scowl at her.

"Everyone ready?" Regina asked once more, ignoring the harsh glares from her niece.

"Let's do this," Jacinda nodded firmly.

"Wait!" Alice shouted, looking around at all the people willing to help her, including her beloved papa. "What happens if it doesn't work?"

"Well, the curse isn't broken, of course." Zelena shrugged.

"Zelena!" Regina hissed.

"What? She asked." Zelena said defensively.

"I mean," Alice interrupted irritably. "All magic comes with a price. What's the price of this?"

"We'll find out." Sabine said firmly, then, ignoring the look of horror on Alice's face, looked towards Zelena and Regina. "We're ready."

"Wait a minute!" Alice snapped.

"Do it." Henry agreed.

Alice opened her mouth to scream at them all until she felt Zelena squeezing her hand. She looked up at her, wide eyed and fearful to see her love's mother give her a gentle smile. "It'll be okay… Trust us."

"I'm scared." Alice whispered. "I don't want to lose anyone else."

"You won't." Zelena promised, smiling and pulling her for a brief one armed hug before retaking her hand again. "I promise. Neither of you will lose anyone else ever again."

With that said, they turned and face the others, leaving Alice to stare silently back at them. One by one everyone shut their eyes, all except for Weaver, Regina and Zelena. The three of them then focused their magic on the wooden rings everyone wore on their little fingers. Hand made creations from the same bracelets that Gothel had used to give Anastasia her sisters magic. Except instead of draining someone completely of their magic, the three sorcerers worked to link the rings together, taking a little from everyone and moving the magic – the love – between each of them with great care.

It wasn't easy to control. Especially not at first when it started. But eventually they were able to guide the magic of their friends and families into the bodies of those around them. It was completely invisible, in fact the non magic users barely felt it and anyone looking in on them would just see a group of people standing in an odd prayer circle, but for those with true magic, they felt the power spinning and spinning around inside of them almost like a growing twister.

The faster the magic travelled, the easier it became, even as it grew into something bigger, building and spinning faster inside each of them. Apart from the magic users, the only other two who didn't shut their eyes were the victims themselves. Robin and Alice stared at each of their friends in turn, one by one, before their eyes accidentally found each other and after that, neither of them could look away.

It had been so long since they had looked at each other. It hurt too much, knowing they were unable to be together, so they had both silently agreed to just plain ignore one another altogether. And now here they were, forced to face one another again with no time to prepare themselves for it. Alice was breathless, nearly choking on herself as she stared longingly at her true love, while Robin's face twisted like a thousand emotions forced their way through her at once and she didn't know how to process any of them. And then, when those emotions finally settled, she burst into tears. Not sobs. Just tears. Streams of tears making their way down her cheeks as she stared at Alice desperately, wishing she could break free of everyone's hold, run and hold her, even if it meant dying to do so. In fact she might have done just that, if not for the fact that she knew that it would hurt Alice too much if she died in her arms. So it was for Alice and Alice alone, that Robin had forced herself to stay away for all this time. And now here they were again, face to face, and still unable to reach.

Elsewhere, out of sight but very much with a clear view of the scene, Drizella and Anastasia were facing a mirror that was hanging overhead of the circle. Regina had set it up before going to fetch Robin. They couldn't do much, since neither sister knew these girls well enough to share in their love, but they could offer a different kind of love. The kind from people who didn't know each other, but still hoped for the best from their fellow human beings. Holding Anastasia's hand, Drizella gave her sister her strength and Anastasia took that strength and sent it through into the mirror, focusing just as hard as anyone else to help them power through.

Back inside the bar, the magic was beginning to burn Alice's skin now. Even Robin was frowning and looking down at herself as a tingle ran up one arm and down the other. When she looked back up, she saw her aunt, mother and Rumplestiltskin all squinting with concentration. They were turning pink in the face and were starting to sweat from the effort of controlling it. The magic swimming through them was more than any of them had ever dealt with before, at least for such a delicate task and it showed on all of their faces as clear as anything.

And then, all of a sudden, Weaver, Regina and Zelena all directed the magic they had collected straight to Robin's heart and the mark on Alice's wrist. Both girls felt a hot pain in the area and they both felt their legs drop in surprise. Alice tried pulling at her arms so she could clutch her wrist to her chest but the others had iron grips on them, keeping both girls in place and refusing to let either of them go. Even when Robin dropped to her knees and Alice shook both her hands, the magic was still running through them and kept anyone from being able to let go even if they wanted to.

"Stop!" Alice shouted, "Stop!" She looked through her own tears to see Robin crouched and leaning over herself in front of her. "STOP!"

A great rush of wind burst out from all of them, hitting one another and causing everyone to be thrown back off their feet. Their hands were ripped apart from one another and they were forced to let go of their friends and family with such force it felt like they were ripping dried glue from their skin. Only Alice and Robin remained in place, held still by the magic still pulsing through them both. Back in the Enchanted Forest, Anastasia and Drizella were also thrown off their feet, the mirror they had been using for communication shattering into splintering pieces and sprinkling glass around them. Anastasia only just got up a protective shield around them in time to avoid her and her sister being torn to ribbons by the shards.

Back in the bar, everyone was spread out in every direction, groaning and grumbling from pain of being thrown back. Sabine and Naveen had been thrown right over the counter, lying behind the bar on their stomachs and sides, while Henry and Jacinda had nearly crashed through the glass behind them, somehow getting away with just dangerously cracking it. Lucy had skid over the top of a table, being saved by the padded seats of a nearby corner booth and Rogers was lying halfway in the open doorway that led into the back. Weaver, Regina and Zelena had also been thrown back a few steps, just barely keeping themselves from losing balance and even then Zelena wobbled so much that she had to quickly take a seat on a nearby chair or otherwise collapse on the floor with everyone else.

Then Robin and Alice both collapsed as well, darkness surrounding their vision as they slumped to the floor in a heap. By the time everyone else had gathered their wits about them and scrambled back onto their feet, the two girls were completely unconscious and limp between them.

"Robin!" Regina gasped, dropping down beside her.

"Alice!" Rogers called, but didn't dare move any closer to her. Luckily Weaver could, and he rushed to her side, rolling her onto her back. "Is she alright?" He called.

"She's okay," Weaver called back, sitting back on his heels. "Just unconscious."

"Same here," Regina said, crouching beside her niece.

"Did it work?" Henry groaned, even as he was running over with Jacinda to pull Lucy back onto her feet and check the young girl was okay. They hadn't expected such a powerful blow-back of magic. If they had, they would have sent Lucy somewhere safe to wait while they handled it alone.

"I'm not sure…" Regina said quietly.

"How do we test it without killing my daughter?" Zelena said sharply, hovering between the two girls like she wasn't sure which one she should sit by, swaying back and forth and sounding close to hysteria.

"Zelena, calm down!" Regina snapped.

Sabine walked around the counter, limping slightly and she moved to crouch where Weaver had pulled Alice to lean against his lap. "How long before they wake up?" She asked him quietly.

"No idea." Weaver sighed. "This kind of spell… It's never been attempted before. We have no idea what the effects of it will be. Whether they be good or bad…" He looked up at her and then everyone else hovering around the room, watching him for answers. "We're just going to have to wait and see." He said finally.

 **O*U*A*T**

The room around them was pure white for a few seconds, blindingly so, before the colours faded and the area around them settled and just like that, Alice found herself sitting on the porch of her home back in the Enchanted Forest. For a moment, Alice was dazed and confused. There was almost no sound at all apart from her own, surprisingly gentle, breathing. She sat dressed in the clothing she wore just before the curse was cast, except, oddly enough, with her Tilly green coat pulled over the top, keeping her warm against the non existent wind.

"Alice!"

Lifting her head, Alice saw Robin walk around from the back of the cabin. She paused when she caught sight of her and her face split open into a familiar smile. She took a sharp step forward only to hesitate, pressing a hand against her chest but there was no pain despite already being dangerously close to one another. With that assurance, Robin smiled again and ran forward. Like Alice, Robin was back in her old clothes she wore before the curse, but with her glasses still on her face and instead of her bow and arrows, she had her many travel bracelets hanging off her wrist.

"Robin…" Alice whispered, standing and watching as Robin ran to her side. She wanted to embrace her but something else was holding her back and instead the two of them found themselves lingering oddly in front of one another, now standing on the porch together. "What happened?" Alice asked finally.

"I'm not sure," Robin glanced around. The area, which had started out white before fading into a familiar open space in the woods, was still brighter than natural with a shiny, almost blurred appearance, silent with no winds, birds or other sounds. Their own voices seemed almost to carry like a constant echo. "The last thing I remember, we were at Roni's."

"And they were trying to cure us…" Alice nodded.

"And then…" Robin hesitated.

"Nothing." Alice finished, looking back at her. "And then… And now, we're here." She looked back at Robin. "But how did we get back here?"

"I don't think this is the real Enchanted Forest," Robin said quietly. "In fact… I think this is just a dream."

"One we're both having?" Alice frowned.

"I think it's one we're sharing." Robin smiled, holding out her hand. "Shall we sit?"

Alice accepted her hand and then accepted a seat back on the bench with Robin taking her place by her side, but she was still frowning. "I don't understand… Why are we sharing a dream? What happened with the spell?"

"I don't know… Maybe it backfired." Robin said quietly.

"How… I mean… Are we… Dead?" Alice croaked.

"No." Robin said firmly. "I think we're just asleep. Maybe the spell backfired and knocked us unconscious or something."

Alice felt her body slump and she huddled over slightly, staring towards the trees in front of her. "So we're still cursed."

"I think so." Robin mumbled, looking down at Alice's hand where the mark still burned, clear as ever. Was it just her imagination or was Alice's own subconscious making the mark bigger and darker than it was before?

Alice suddenly let out a sob. Robin looked up to find tears streaming down her face, and yet somehow she remained as beautiful as ever, even in her sadness. Without thinking about it, Robin reached over and wrapped her arms around her, hugging her close and holding her in the dreams because she could no longer do it when they were awake.

"I miss you so much," Alice sobbed, turning and curling up against Robin, burying her face in her neck and crying softly. "Every day. I wake up… And you're not there."

"I miss you, too." Robin whispered, fighting tears of her own.

Alice continued to cry against her. "I lost my father and it was almost too much but then I found you and now I've lost you again and I feel so empty all the time." She gasped, reaching up and gripping her tightly. "I mean… I feel so alone without you and-"

"No, no, no, you're not alone, Alice." Robin said, clinging onto her tightly. "You are never alone, you have my mum and aunt looking out for you and Henry and Rumplestiltskin! I heard you were staying with him and he's always been like a second father to you-"

"It's not the same. I do love him but… I want to be with him and you and papa." Alice took a shaky breath, lifting her head to look up at her. "It's not fair."

"I know," Robin said, because what else could she say.

"Rumplestiltskin's been trying so hard. He really has." Alice sniffed. "I just can't bring myself to care about anything… Since you were cursed, all I do is lie around and sulk. I barely even eat. Rumple has to force me to do everything…" She paused. "I'm so pathetic."

"You're pathetic?" Robin laughed, feeling her body shaking. She tightened her hold on Alice in order to keep herself steady. "You should have seen me the last few weeks. I've been doing nothing but shooting arrows in the woods and yelling at anyone who even comes close to me. I screamed at my aunt and my mum and… I turned into a royal brat again. Only even worse than that. Royal brats at least have some grace to them."

Alice hesitated, pulling her legs up to her chest so she was curled into as ball and pressing tightly against Robin, resting her head on her shoulder and shutting her eyes. It was a dream and she never wanted to wake up from it. Because, when they woke up, they would be separated again, forbidden from touching for fear or hurting one another.

And Robin understood her, because she felt the exact same. She wanted to stay in this moment and forget that the rest of the world existed. Even if it meant giving up the rest of her family to sleep forever, she would have happily done it if she knew that her and Alice could be together for it all.

But that couldn't happen. It was all just a fantasy that they would never be able to experience. They couldn't go to sleep forever, nor could they hide away from the world and the rest of the people that loved them. There really were other people out there that needed them and wanted them. It was selfish for them to cling onto to this world when there was a real one out there waiting for them. And in that moment Robin realised something that made her want to start sobbing all over again, something stabbed into her heart worse than any curse ever could.

"Alice…" Robin said, nudging her off her shoulder and turning to sit cross legged on the bench, facing her properly. "We need to talk."

"I thought we were," Alice blinked, wrapping her arms around her legs and resting her cheek against her knee.

"Alice…" Robin said again. "Listen to me." She pressed her lips together. She'd never been so shaken before in her life and her words were coming out broken despite her best efforts to stay calm. She ran through a million ways to put it gentle but none of it seemed right. In the end she blurted it out. "You need to move on."

"Where?" Alice frowned.

"No, I mean…" Robin sniffed. "You need to let me go and find someone else to be with."

"What?" Alice blinked, lifting her head and blinking in confusion.

"Alice, there is no saying we will ever find a cure." Robin said, reaching over and taking her hands. "And I can't bear the thought of you growing up, lonely and locked away from the world."

"What are you saying, Robin?" Alice said numbly.

"I'm saying; that you need to find someone else." Robin said, squeezing her hands. "You are so young and beautiful and kind and just wonderful. You deserve nothing but happiness. And you can't get that if you spend all your life waiting for the impossible."

"How can you say that?!" Alice shouted, ripping her hands free and standing up to look down at her. "How can you even hint at that?! I love you, Robin! I could never move on, I could never love anyone the way I love you!"

"Everyone thinks that," Robin said, lip trembling as she forced herself to smile sadly up at her. "But it's not true. Aunt Regina thought she loved her first boyfriend, Daniel… But she found someone else. My dad. And the old Sheriff from Storybrooke, she loved Henry's dad but she still found love after he was gone." She sniffed, reaching up and wiping away the tears. "It's not easy. But it's possible and it's what I want for you, Alice. I want you to go out into the world and find your new happy ending."

"You're my happy ending!" Alice screamed, shaking so badly she was afraid she was going to collapse.

"I'm _A_ happy ending. Not _The_ happy ending." Robin said, standing and reaching to hold her, only for Alice to back away sharply.

"NO! I don't want any other happy endings!" Alice snapped, her breath coming in sharp gasps and she reached a hand, grabbing onto the side of the porch for support. "Don't you understand? If I can't have you, I don't want anyone!"

"I know it feels that way now," Robin whispered, stepping forward and grabbing her before she could move away again. "But things will get better."

"What about you? Huh?" Alice demanded. "Are you just going to move on and meet someone new and fall in love with someone else?"

Robin hesitated, shaking her head. "Maybe."

Alice let out a bark of laughter, tears still streaming down her cheeks uncontrollably. "You are such a damn liar!"

"Well what I do doesn't matter!" Robin snapped. "Forget about me! Just make yourself happy, Alice, all I want is for you to be happy-"

"I'm happy with you! Why don't you understand that?!"

"I do understand! I understand more than anyone else! But that doesn't change anything! I want to be happy with you, too, but that's not going to happen. We're cursed and your dad spent years looking for a cure and all our family came together and they channelled their true love and it still wasn't enough." Robin shook her head. "I hate this, Alice. I hate not being with you and I hate seeing you cry and I hate calling you because you're always crying even when you try and hide it. And I hate hearing how you are from other people, and I hate how obviously they're lying because even though they tell me you're dealing, I _know_ you're not. I know you're not because _I'm_ not! I'm not dealing! And I hate this! I hate all of this! I hate everything! And I know things aren't going to get better so I'm trying to do the right thing." Robin gasped, feeling her body deflate. "I'm trying… To do what's right."

"This isn't right. Love means fighting until the very end!" Alice sobbed.

"Love means doing what's best for the person you care about, even if it hurts you!" Robin argued.

"But it's not just hurting you, it's hurting me, too!" Alice gasped, leaning against the porch completely now. "Robin… Even if you think it's best… I'll never be able to let go of you. I'll never be able to move on."

"It'll be hard," Robin nodded quietly. "But I believe in you, Alice. You are too good for this world not to give you a happy ending. Even if it isn't with me." Robin stepped up and wrapped her arms around her. "I know that one day, all your dreams are going to come true."

Alice wrapped her own arms around Robin, clinging to her tightly. She looked up at her, shaking her head. "Not without you."

Robin smiled sadly, sniffing and leaning forward, resting her forehead against Alice's. "Yes. One day. Without me."

The area around them began to shimmer and glow. Without being told, the girls realised they were waking up. Waking to a world where they could never be together. Silently Alice planned to run home, lock herself away and never leave her room, while Robin planned to walk home, pack her bags, and leave town for good. She would leave Hyperion Heights and give Alice a real chance to be happy.

"I love you, Alice." Robin whispered. Then, because she couldn't say anything because Robin knew it would hurt too much to hear her reply, she leaned forward and kissed her, cutting off the attempt.

As the world around the shimmered and shone before gradually dropping into shadows, Alice and Robin wound their arms tightly around one another and held the kiss. It was somehow the sweetest kiss they had ever had and as soon as their lips met, the tears stopped. They deepened the kiss, the tightness and pain fading and lifting from them with ease, replaced only with a warm and beautiful love before they were woken up and brought back to the real world.

 **O*U*A*T**

"Alice, you alright?" Weaver asked, helping her back onto her feet as she slowly came to.

"I. Don't. Know." Alice croaked, shaking and leaning heavily against him. She felt oddly warm, especially along her arm.

"Robin, speak to me. Tell me, does anything hurt?" Regina asked quickly, guiding Robin into a sitting position.

"No," Robin croaked. She felt breathless and a little light headed but there was no pain.

Everyone else was lingering in the room, hovering between the two girls and glancing back and forth between them guiltily. It was more clear now than ever that their spell had failed. Despite how hard they had worked, the poor girls were still cursed to never be together. Now they were just waiting for that information to sink in for everyone.

"Look, it didn't work but we can try again." Zelena said immediately.

"No, Zelena." Regina sighed. "We can't. That much magic can't just be repeated on a whim…"

As her mother opened her mouth to argue, Robin interrupted her, gasping; "I… I have to go." She stumbled onto his feet and rushed for the door.

If she left, Alice somehow knew she'd never see her love again. And she just couldn't let that happen.

"No, Robin, wait!" Alice cried, pushing away from Weaver and throwing herself across the room without thinking twice about consequences. She found a newfound strength in her desperation and somehow managed to jump the tables in her way, closing the space between them before Robin had managed to pull the door open enough to slip through and escape.

"Alice!" Rogers shouted.

"NO!" Zelena shrieked.

"Stop!" Regina gasped, throwing herself up to stop her.

But Alice ignored all of their warnings and cries. They were like distant echos in the back of her mind. Without thinking what she might accidentally be doing, Alice reached over, closing the space between them and grabbing onto Robin's wrist and pulling her to a sharp stop.

Everyone froze.

All sound died from the room and no one moved like if they held still then the world would remain paused and nothing bad would happen. They each waited for the inevitable and yet, still nothing happened. Everyone waited for even longer but the two girls remained standing close, staring at each other in shock with Alice's hand still gripping firmly around Robin's wrist. There was no pain. No blast of magic that pushed them away from each other. No nothing.

Yet, still no one spoke. And then Robin slapped Alice's hand off her arm, closed the distance between them by grabbing Alice's face between her hands and kissing her hard. Alice let out the slightest muffled squeal of surprise, her own hand grabbed at the Robin's top and her jacket, gripping the material and pressing up against her hard.

When they pulled away, they paused, staring at one another. It had been far too long since Alice had been able to look into Robin's gorgeous green eyes this closely. She was in so much shock, she couldn't even smile, even though that was all she wanted to do!

"How…" Alice breathed. "How are… How can… The curse…"

"We broke it," Robin whispered, still cradling her face between her hands.

"But how?" Alice mumbled.

"How indeed." Naveen mumbled.

Zelena stepping towards them, frowning at the girls, caught between confusion and relief. "The spell didn't work. I know it didn't."

"But if it wasn't the spell then what broke the curse?" Lucy asked.

Robin smiled softly, the first soft smile she had put on since being separated from Alice. "I think I know."

"Mind filling the rest of us in?" Henry threw in.

"True love." Robin smiled. Then pulled Alice into her arms, hugging her close with the silent promise to never let her go again.

Not long after, they were all settled down into more comfortable positions. Rogers had taken a seat with Regina, Sabine and Naveen by the bar, safely away from Alice while the girls were settled in a booth, arms around each other, with Zelena, Weaver, Henry, Jacinda and Lucy on either side of them. They explained about the dream and the kiss they shared at the end that must have somehow broken the curse for them. It had to be thanks to the true love they shared even in the dream world.

Weaver nodded slowly at them. "Our spell must have opened the doors for you to find your own way back together."

"Well I'm glad." Zelena smiled. "Because now Robin can stop sulking."

"And threatening poor animals in the woods," Regina snorted, having a sip of her drink.

"Okay, okay, just because my heart is safe doesn't mean my feelings are. Can we not pick on me, please?" Robin laughed, so much more light and cheerful than she had been before. Regina almost didn't recognise her as the same person.

"Let's not forget who made this possible." Jacinda said suddenly, grinning and squeezing the arm she had around her daughter's shoulders.

Lucy grinned up at them, happily accepted the thank you's and well done's thrown her way. The truth was, she didn't mind not getting any praise. She was just happy to have been able to help them.

"Hey. Here's a crazy idea," Henry said suddenly. "Could we not use the same trick for Alice and Hook?"

Regina shook her head. "I don't think so, Henry. I wasn't exaggerating before. We used a lot of magic and it took a lot out of us just to manage just this. We can't just repeat it with a snap of our fingers." She saw Alice slouch down slightly against Robin's side and added quickly; "But that doesn't mean we should stop trying. If anything, this just proves we can find a way. We just have to believe in it."

"Yeah," Alice nodded sadly, smiling at her father.

Rogers smiled back at her. "We will." He promised. "But now for… Why don't you two just sit back and let Regina and Zelena wait on you for a bit, while Weaver and I go move all your stuff back to Robin's place where it belongs."

"Papa, you don't have to." Alice said quickly, sitting up.

"I want to." Rogers said, standing and setting his empty drink down.

"He's right," Weaver said, putting a hand over Alice's and squeezing gently. "Now do as your father says and relax. Everything's okay now, Alice."

"Not everything." Alice said quietly, leaning back against Robin and smiling up at her. "But some things are."


End file.
